NEW YORK – SnagFilms, an online distribution site for documentaries, will also start distributing independent films and has hired industry veteran Bingham Ray, former co-founder of October Films and United Artists president, to spearhead its fictional film business, AllThingsD reported.

The company has also received $10 million in funding from Comcast’s investment arm and New Enterprise Associates, it said.

The addition and investment, which values SnagFilms at $50 million, comes just before the start of the Sundance Film Festival.

The company currently distributes films online for free with advertising support, but also offers rental streaming and purchase options.

Founder Ted Leonsis, a former AOL top executive, told AllThingsD that SnagFilms is profitable. “It was always my personal frustration as a backer of documentaries that you could not get distribution far and wide,” he said. “What we’ve discovered is a big supply of independent video that has never seen light of day, but that has a big audience.”